1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spice and small item storage, mainly spices and herbs, but it is also useful for storing small items in office, bath, craft, electronic, and workshop rooms as well as in motor homes and boats.
2. Description of Prior Art
Spice storage now in use relies mainly on racks. Whether countertop, wall mounted, or hung on the inside of cabinet doors, current small item storage creates a cluttered look and/or takes up valuable space which could be used by other items. Furthermore, this system solves the pressing problem of how to use the space in the undersides of shelves.
Most patents issued are design patents and merely address the look of racks. Some utility spice container designs are Canini (U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,776) which breaks up lumps in the contents. Daniello (U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,213) and Robbins (U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,871) designed pre-measuring caps for spice jars. Among the utility designs for presenting multiple spices are Plough (U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,680) who created a double oval to present two spices and Hofmann (U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,608) whose design also stores multiple ingredients. Other spice designs open the form from a flat rack to other shapes. Morse (U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,055) created a carrousel. Barbieri (U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,954 designed a spice calendar while Finnegan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,208) put spice jars on a horizontal incline. Friedrich et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,203) designed a system requiring the spice containers to be magnetically held. All these designs compete for precious countertop and/or interior cabinet shelf space. Johnson et al. (U.S. Pat No. 5,871,107) patented a hinged sheet metal keeper to be affixed by magnetic tape to the underside of kitchen cabinets. Service (U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,305) designed a pullout spice drawer to fit behind or beside major appliances. Although these do not use countertop space these designs are larger, more costly, more difficult to install and more difficult to remove than the present design.
Other current spice storage available in markets include racks included in cabinet doors taking space from the room rather than the cabinet interior and racks added to the inside of cabinet doors which requires space in the interior of the cabinet when the door is closed. The former solution is built in, costly, and cannot be easily moved if the owner wishes to change; the latter solution has the same problems plus it takes space from the interior that could be used for other items.
Soft hammock and sling designs for shipping boxes may have more connection to the present invention. Janus et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,290) designed a suspension package as a lidded box with inner slings to cradle the contents during transportation. Lofgren's (U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,917) design included a frame and a hammock. Luray, (U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,459) made a shipping box for fragile articles consisting of a shock absorbing cradle supported only at the ends. B. Benzon-Petersen (U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,339) designed cardboard packing containers cradling fragile items like glass and china in individual Compartments effected by sinuous strips of cardboard within the supporting walls of the box. These containers are uninstalled temporary conveyances to ship delicate possessions. Like other packing containers these sling cardboard boxes would usually be discarded after one use. In contrast the present fabric design is installed inside buildings, motor homes, and boats for permanent, non transportation use. All these designs are movable and include rigid armatures to support the hammocks while slings of the present design hang from attachment above.
Drew (U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,246) invented a compact disc carrier to be attached to the under side of vehicle sun visors. Designed as a flap, Drew's pocket slots accept the 4.5″ diameter compact discs which are the depth of a dime. The carrier is frequently moved as the sun visor is used. The carrier can also be independently lifted and lowered to use the vanity mirror located on the sun visor. There are several differences from the present design. Drew's is specifically meant for vehicle sun visors, the present design installs under shelves in buildings as well as in motor homes and boats. Drew's design is frequently moved, the present design is stationary as installed. Drew's pocket design is limited specifically to compact discs 4.5″ diameter and the depth of a dime; the present design accepts all items fitting into an approximately 5″ long by 1.5″ wide bottle.
McKenzie et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,907 designed a non elastic pocket system holding drink cups and personal articles for athletic teams during competitions outdoors. McKenzie et al is designed to be used in a vertical position, such as on a chain link fence, for temporary use such as during games. McKenzie's vertical drink cup holders require bottoms so cans or bottles don't fall through, the present horizontal elastic design slings are open at both ends. The present elastic design installs indoors in a horizontal position under cabinets and shelving for permanent use. An ornamental design from Ng et al. (U.S. Pat. No. US D 510,823S) is a coffee table with adjustable cloth slings to hold magazines and other periodicals. This free standing furniture has rigid end pieces to support the table top and the adjustable slings holding multiple periodicals of various sizes which are located under the tabletop. In contrast to Ng's large furniture design the present small utilitarian design is unobtrusively installed on undersurfaces of shelving and cabinetry with elastic but unadjustable slings.